At Tandent, we cherish scientific creativity, collegiality and enthusiasm. The profundity of our mission and our proprietary technical advancements have attracted some of the leading talent in the field of computer vision.

Tandent's scientific management, advisors and research staff bring decades of diverse experience in the computer vision field. Our team includes academic scientists, accomplished industrial scientists, and outstanding recent graduates.

Every scientist and employee at Tandent is passionate about and committed to advancing computer vision technology.

Principal Scientists and Management Team, January 2008

 

BESMA ABIDI
Director Data Acquisition and Systems Testing Group

Prior to joining Tandent, Besma Roui Abidi was a research faculty member with the Imaging, Robotics, and Intelligent Systems Laboratory in the Department of Electrical Engineering and Computer Science at the University of Tennessee, Knoxville from 1998 to 2007. She was also a research scientist at Oak Ridge National Laboratory from 1998 to 2000. Abidi received a PhD from the University of Tennessee in 1995, an MS from the National Engineering School of Tunisia in 1986 and the Diploma of Principal Engineer (six-year degree) from the same school in 1985, all in Electrical Engineering.  Her research interests are in the field of computer vision, with emphasis on data fusion, motion tracking, 3D processing, and biometrics. Abidi is the coeditor of one book and author or coauthor of over 100 conference and journal papers in the field of computer vision. She is the recipient of the best paper award (OTBVS/CVPR 04) and the award for the most cited paper from the Journal of Computer Vision and Image Understanding from 2005 to 2007.

ALAA ALY
Consulting Computer Vision Scientist

Alaa Aly is an assistant professor at Michigan Technological University. In 2007, he received his PhD in Electrical Engineering from the University of Louisville, KY. His dissertation discussed extracting invariant features in color and 3D spaces. His current research interests include feature extraction, object recognition, computer vision and image processing. He is a member of the US national Engineering Honor Society, Tau Beta Pi.

DREW BAGNELL
Consulting Computer Vision Scientist

Drew Bagnell received a B.Sc. in Electrical Engineering with highest honors from the University of Florida in 1998. He joined the Robotics Institute at Carnegie Mellon University in 2000 as a National Science Foundation Graduate Fellow, receiving an MS and PhD in Robotics in 2002 and 2004, respectively. Bagnell is currently faculty appointed in the Robotics Institute and Machine Learning Department and develops technology with the National Robotics Engineering Center (NREC) and the Auton Lab within those institutions. He is a leading researcher in the field of machine learning, having over 20 peer-reviewed publications and serving on the senior program committee and as editor in top conferences/journals in the field. His interests in machine learning include algorithmic and theoretical development as well as delivering fielded learning-based systems. His research expertise extends to machine perception, autonomous navigation, information theory, control theory and optimization. Bagnell has led efforts on a wide range of projects: he has led the perception and learning teams of the NREC’s off-road, rough terrain (DARPA UPI/“Crusher”) autonomy program, worked on large-scale data-mining problems, developed automated interpretation of imagery for Carnegie Mellon's Urban Challenge team, leads CMU efforts on the Learning Locomotion project, and develops technology for learning driver assistance (including automated recognition of driver destination and route, vision-based recognition of vehicles, and customized routing for impaired drivers) for both NSF and commercial efforts. Bagnell works with Tandent on applying machine learning and optimization to difficult image processing and computer vision problems.

STEVEN J. BUSHELL
Computer Vision Scientist

Steven J. Bushell has worked as a software engineering specialist and consultant in the field of digital imaging for over 15 years. His work includes development of digital camera software at Polaroid, electronic printing systems at Kodak, image processing algorithms at Scitex Corporation, nonlinear digital video systems at Media 100, and database and network communication for scientific data management systems at Waters/NuGenesis. After nearly three decades of taking pictures, photography continues to be one of his primary interests, along with optics and image processing. Bushell received a Bachelor's Degree in Electrical Engineering in 1990 from Tufts University, where he concentrated in digital image processing and electro-optics.

KRISTIN DANA
Consulting Computer Vision Scientist

Kristin Dana is an Associate Professor in the Department of Electrical and Computer Engineering at Rutgers, the State University of New Jersey. Her research interests include computer vision and graphics, with an emphasis on pattern recognition and computational models of object appearance. Dana received a PhD from Columbia University (NY,NY) in 1999, an MS degree from the Massachusetts Institute of Technology in 1992, and a BS degree in 1990 from the Cooper Union (NY,NY). From 1992-1995 she was on the research staff at Sarnoff Corporation, developing real-time motion estimation algorithms for applications in the defense, biomedicine and entertainment industries. She was the recipient of the General Electric "Faculty of the Future" fellowship in 1990, the Sarnoff Corporation Technical Achievement Award in 1994 for the development of a practical algorithm for the real-time alignment of visible and infrared video images, and the National Science Foundation Career Award (2001) for a program investigating surface science for vision and graphics.

FELIX D'ARIENZO
Outside Patent Attorney and Director of IP Strategy

Felix D'Arienzo, Jr. is a partner at the firm of Davidson, Davidson & Kappel, LLC. He is admitted to the bars of New York, the U.S. District Court, Southern and Eastern Districts of New York and Northern District of California. He is registered to practice before the U.S. Patent and Trademark Office. D'Arienzo, received a BS from the Stevens Institute of Technology and a JD from St. John's University where he was a member of the Law Review.

MATTHIAS DE HAAN
Director of Operations

Matthias de Haan has established an extensive background over the past decade in operations and finance. He has worked with Richard Friedhoff since mid-2003, working on the creation and founding of Tandent Vision Science. Prior to the founding of Tandent in December 2004, he acquired extensive knowledge as an investment banker with Merrill Lynch and Salomon Smith Barney, where he specialized in M&A advisory and corporate finance. De Haan received his BA in economics and international relations from Boston University. In addition to English, he is fluent in French and Dutch.

MILAN DIEBEL
Computer Vision Scientist

Milan Diebel received his PhD in Physics from the University of Washington (Seattle, WA) in 2004. His dissertation work focused on modeling of macroscopic diffusion and clustering of dopants and point-defects in silicon using density functional theory. He also holds an MS degree in Physics from the University of Washington (2001) and a Diploma in Theoretical Nuclear Physics from the Justus-Liebig University Giessen/Germany (1999). Before joining Tandent Vision Science, Diebel worked in the Technology CAD Department of Intel Corporation for several years. He was directly involved in the development of Intel’s proprietary process simulator for technology development and performed fundamental materials property and device calculations to support Intel’s Components Research process pathfinding efforts, including the latest Intel metal-gate/high-k technology. Diebel published numerous papers and conference proceedings in the field of silicon process technology physics. Prior to working at Intel he was an IT consultant with Lotus (IBM) and developed the proprietary website management framework for Deutsche Bank.  

RICHARD FRIEDHOFF
President/Director of Research

Richard Friedhoff studied neurophysiology at Yale University before meeting Edwin H. Land and then working as a consultant to the Polaroid Corporation in 1980. He was taught vision science by Edwin H. Land, founder of Polaroid, and personally knows most of the key researchers in the field of color algorithms through his association with Dr. Land. Friedhoff has been interested in the connections between Land’s approach to color perception and visual computing for many years and has written two books, Visualization (Abrams, 1988, W.H. Freeman, 1991) and Visual Computing (The Scientific American Library, 2001), that include Dr. Land’s ideas and that integrate ideas from visual computing, art, and perception.

For many years, Friedhoff has operated a private laboratory where he has done research on color algorithms and on other matters such as computer-human interface issues, cognitive science, and stereoscopic vision that have been the basis for his two books and various articles. He also worked for Dr. Land’s scientific research institute, The Rowland Institute for Science (now part of Harvard University), for seven years in the field of stereoscopic inkjet printing while contributing to the development of the Institute’s policies on technology transfer and other matters. Friedhoff's work on color algorithms formed the basis for research at Tandent Vision Science, which was established in 2005 to commercialize his discoveries.

During most of his professional career, Friedhoff has been involved in product and strategy development with the founders and senior management of companies that have been built on proprietary innovations including the Polaroid Corporation, Silicon Graphics, and Dolby Laboratories. Friedhoff has learned about inventing, innovation management, commercialization of inventions, and licensing from some of the best in these fields including Edwin H. Land, Ray Dolby and, briefly, James Clark, founder of Silicon Graphics, during his consultancy at SGI. In recent years, he has begun speaking to industry about the nature of invention and innovation management and has concluded that the best inventions are conceptually simple, patentable, inexpensive to develop, and broadly enabling in emerging fields.

SAM KWAK
Computer Vision Programmer

Sam Kwak graduated with a BS in Mathematics from Carnegie Mellon University in 2005. Prior to joining Tandent, he worked on software for pose estimation and laser range finding. He is among the fastest and best coders we have ever seen.

BRUCE MAXWELL
Consulting Computer Vision Scientist

Bruce Maxwell is an Associate Professor and Chair of the Department of Computer Science at Colby College in Maine. His interests include computer vision, robotics, computer graphics, scientific data analysis and visualization. He started exploring computer science and engineering as an undergraduate at Swarthmore College, where he earned a BA in Political Science, a BS in Engineering, and a concentration in Computer Science. He went on to obtain an MPhil in Speech Recognition at Cambridge University and a PhD in Robotics at Carnegie Mellon University, where his focus was on understanding the fundamental properties of objects and how computers can automatically detect coherent surfaces in images.

BART NABBE
Computer Vision Scientist

In addition to his position at Tandent as a Computer Vision Scientist, Bart Nabbe also holds an adjunct faculty position at the Carnegie Mellon Robotics Institute. His primary focus is in sensing for robotic applications. Other research interests include Mobile Robots, Planning and Mobile Devices. Nabbe is passionate about bringing state-of-the-art Artificial Intelligence to real-world applications. Before taking a position at Tandent, Bart worked at Intel Research, Pittsburgh. Nabbe completed his PhD at the Robotics Institute at Carnegie Mellon University, where he developed a combined Sensing-Navigation strategy for outdoor navigation in unstructured environments.

PIETRO PERONA
Consulting Computer Vision Scientist

Pietro Perona is a Professor of Electrical Engineering at the California Institute of Technology, where he is the Chair of the Computation and Neural Systems Department. His research focuses on computational aspects of vision, including early vision, autonomous navigation, shape reconstruction, and visual pattern recognition. Pietro received a D.Eng. from the University of Padova in Italy and a PhD from the University of California, Berkeley.

TIM RODGERS
Application Development

Tim Rodgers prior career experience includes commercial development of embedded and real-time applications at TV Guide On Screen, nonlinear digital video editing systems at Media 100, medium-format digital cameras at Mosaic Imaging, and image acquisition, image processing, color management and pre-press solutions at Polaroid, Kodak and Agfa. Tim received his BS in Computer Systems Engineering from the University of Massachusetts, Amherst.

JOHN ROSIN
Financial Manager

In addition to his position at Tandent, John Rosin works as a Senior Administrative Analyst at the University of California, San Francisco, where he oversees financial management for an international health research program. Rosin holds a Master's Degree in International Affairs from The Johns Hopkins University and a Bachelor's Degree in Classics from Stanford University.

JAMES SCHIRILLO
Consulting Psychophysicist

Jim Schirillo is Associate Professor of Psychology at Wake Forest University, where he studies perceptual neuroscience. Schirillo focuses on four research areas that examine how humans perceive the external world: 1) the perception of color and illumination, 2) multisensory integration, 3) Gestalt grouping and 4) Aesthetic preferences. Schirillo received a BA from Franklin & Marshall College and a PhD in Experimental Psychology from Northeastern University, 1990. He is the author of 15 peer-reviewed papers on perception of lightness. In addition to directing Tandent's psychophysics research, Jim serves as Tandent's principal liaison with the psychophysics and visual physiology communities and helps to explore the implications of Tandent's research for these fields.

CASEY SMITH
Computer Vision Scientist

Casey Smith received a BA in Computer Science and a BS in Engineering from Swarthmore College, receiving the Thomas B. McCabe award, which is awarded to the outstanding engineer in the graduating class. He continued his studies in computer science at Cornell University on a National Science Foundation Graduate Research Fellowship and has received an MS.  His previous research focused on data mining, clustering, visualization, and machine vision.

STEFANO SOATTO
Consulting Computer Vision Scientist

Professor Soatto received his PhD in Control and Dynamical Systems from the California Institute of Technology in 1996 and joined UCLA in 2000 after being Assistant and then Associate Professor of Electrical and Biomedical Engineering at Washington University and Research Associate in Applied Sciences at Harvard University. Between 1995 and 1998 he was also Ricercatore in the Department of Mathematics and Computer Science at the University of Udine (Italy). He received his D.Ing. degree with highest honors from the University of Padova (Italy) in 1992. Soatto is the recipient of the David Marr Prize (with Y. Ma, J. Kosecka and S. Sastry of U.C. Berkeley) for work on Euclidean reconstruction and reprojection up to subgroups. He also received the Siemens Prize with the Outstanding Paper Award from the IEEE Computer Society for his work on optimal structure from motion (with R. Brockett of Harvard). He received the National Science Foundation Career Award and an Okawa Foundation Grant. He is Associate Editor of the IEEE Transactions on Pattern Analysis and Machine Intelligence (PAMI) and a Member of the Editorial Board of the International Journal of Computer Vision (IJCV) and Foundations and Trends in Computer Graphics and Vision.

ANDREW STEIN
Computer Vision Scientist

Andrew Stein completed a BS degree in Electrical Engineering and an MS degree in Electrical and Computer Engineering from the Georgia Institute of Technology in 2001 and 2002, respectively. He then joined the Robotics Institute at Carnegie Mellon University, supported by graduate fellowships from NSF and NDSEG. Specializing in Computer Vision, he completed the MS and PhD degrees in Robotics in 2004 and 2008, respectively. His doctoral dissertation focuses on low-level detection of object and occlusion boundaries and subsequent mid/high-level reasoning based on those boundaries. As an intern at the Princeton Summer Institute and as a graduate researcher at Intel Research Pittsburgh, NASA's Jet Propulsion Laboratory, and ChemImage Corporation, Stein has researched and applied a wide variety of other Computer Vision techniques, including object recognition, structure from motion, stereo, hyper-spectral image analysis, real-time tracking, and segmentation.  

DAVID TOLLIVER
Consulting Computer Vision Scientist

David Tolliver is a Special Research Faculty in the Theory Division of the Department of Computer Science at Carnegie Mellon University. His research focuses on mathematical models in image processing, pseudo-approximation algorithms, and applied combinatorics. He received his PhD in Robotics at Carnegie Mellon University in the Fall of 2006. 

NANCY WALSH
General Counsel

Prior to joining Tandent, Nancy Walsh was the Associate General Counsel at InsWeb Corporation, an Internet-based insurance marketplace. Walsh has also held the position of Associate General Counsel, Vice President and Assistant Secretary at CalFarm Insurance Company and was a senior associate at the law firm of Daar & Newman in Los Angeles, California.

YOUNGROCK YOON
Computer Vision Scientist

Youngrock Yoon received his PhD in Electrical and Computer Engineering from Purdue University, Indiana, and MS and BS in Computer Science from Yonsei University in South Korea. Before joining Tandent, he worked on a video content retrieval project as a post-doctoral researcher at the University of Central Florida in 2006. In 2007, he participated in a project for developing a system of cooperative unmanned aerial vehicles for autonomous intelligence, surveillance and reconnaissance missions at the US Air Force Academy.  His research interests include computer vision, object pose estimation and tracking, object recognition and sensor-based robotics.